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Spreadsheets · head to head

Rowy vs Spring Cloud Gateway

Rowy logo

Rowy

Spreadsheets

Spreadsheet interface for Google Cloud Firestore with cloud functions written in the browser

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Spring Cloud Gateway logo

Spring Cloud Gateway

APIs

API gateway built on Project Reactor for building microservices

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Rowy every Firestore limit is inherited, including the one megabyte per document ceiling and roughly one sustained write per second per document, which surprises users who expect spreadsheet behaviour.; Spring Cloud Gateway released under the Apache 2.0 license, free and open source with no commercial tier
  • They diverge on capability: Rowy covers Firestore backed grid, Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Rowy and Spring Cloud Gateway actually diverge.

Attributes where Rowy and Spring Cloud Gateway differ
AttributeRowySpring Cloud Gateway
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeopen-source
PlatformsWebJava, Spring Boot
CategorySpreadsheetsAPIs
FoundedUnknown1998

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Rowy

  • Firestore backed grid
  • Browser authored cloud functions
  • Typed columns
  • Runs in your Google Cloud project
  • Role based access
  • Form view
  • Open source

Only in Spring Cloud Gateway

  • Routing
  • Path Rewriting
  • Circuit Breaker
  • Spring Boot
  • Spring Security
  • Spring Cloud
  • Java support
  • Spring Boot support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Rowy

  • A Firebase application that needs an internal admin interface without building onenot Spring Cloud Gateway
  • Operations staff correcting production records in Firestore without developer involvementnot Spring Cloud Gateway
  • Attaching a small transformation or notification function to a field change without a full deployment pipelinenot Spring Cloud Gateway
  • A content team populating documents that a mobile application reads directly from Firestorenot Spring Cloud Gateway

Spring Cloud Gateway

  • API Developmentnot Rowy
  • API Gatewaynot Rowy
  • API Testingnot Rowy
  • API Documentationnot Rowy
  • Microservicesnot Rowy

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Rowy

  • Every Firestore limit is inherited, including the one megabyte per document ceiling and roughly one sustained write per second per document, which surprises users who expect spreadsheet behaviour.
  • Firestore has no joins, so linking tables in the grid is a convenience layer rather than a relational feature and reports across collections still need a separate query.
  • It is useful only to teams already on Firebase, so choosing it effectively locks the operational tooling to one cloud vendor.
  • Query costs are billed by document read, and an unfiltered grid on a large collection can generate a bill that a spreadsheet user has no intuition for.
  • Development activity has slowed relative to the broader category, so evaluate current maintenance before making it load bearing for internal operations.

Spring Cloud Gateway

  • Released under the Apache 2.0 license, free and open source with no commercial tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Rowy

Free
  • Open source self hostedFree
    • No licence fee
    • Deploys into your own Google Cloud project
    • You pay Google Cloud for Firestore reads, writes and storage

Spring Cloud Gateway

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Core Spring Cloud Gateway
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Rowy if

  • You need firestore backed grid.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want browser authored cloud functions.
Rowy review

Choose Spring Cloud Gateway if

  • You need routing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Java, Spring Boot.
  • You also want path rewriting.
Spring Cloud Gateway review

Questions people ask

Is Rowy or Spring Cloud Gateway better?
Neither clearly leads. Rowy starts at Free and Spring Cloud Gateway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Rowy or Spring Cloud Gateway?
Rowy starts at Free and Spring Cloud Gateway at Free.
Does Rowy or Spring Cloud Gateway run on more platforms?
Rowy runs on Web. Spring Cloud Gateway runs on Java, Spring Boot.
Can I use Rowy for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Rowy best used for?
Rowy is most often used for a firebase application that needs an internal admin interface without building one, operations staff correcting production records in firestore without developer involvement, attaching a small transformation or notification function to a field change without a full deployment pipeline, a content team populating documents that a mobile application reads directly from firestore. Of those, a firebase application that needs an internal admin interface without building one and operations staff correcting production records in firestore without developer involvement are not what Spring Cloud Gateway is typically brought in for.
What can Rowy do that Spring Cloud Gateway cannot?
Rowy covers Firestore backed grid, Browser authored cloud functions, Typed columns, Runs in your Google Cloud project. Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing, Path Rewriting, Circuit Breaker, Spring Boot.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Rowy: Where is my data stored?

In your own Firestore instance inside your own Google Cloud project. Rowy does not hold a copy.

Spring Cloud Gateway: Is Spring Cloud Gateway free?

Yes, Spring Cloud Gateway is free and open-source software. It is part of the Spring ecosystem and available through GitHub repositories with open-source dependencies like spring-cloud-starter-gateway-server-webflux and spring-cloud-starter-gateway-server-webmvc.

Source
Rowy: What does it cost to run?

No licence fee. You pay Google Cloud for Firestore reads, writes, storage and function invocations, and an open grid on a big collection reads a lot.

Spring Cloud Gateway: What enterprise support is available for Spring Cloud Gateway?

Tanzu Spring provides optional enterprise support including Day 0 access to security patches for organizations requiring guaranteed support, but specific pricing is not published on the Spring Cloud Gateway project page.

Source
Rowy: Can it do joins across collections?

Not really. Firestore does not support joins, and no interface layer can add them.

Rowy: Is there a row limit?

Not from Rowy. The limits that bite are Firestore document size and per document write throughput.

Rowy: Is it suitable if I am not on Firebase?

No. It is specifically a Firestore interface.

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